We now have over 30 different videos on YouTube that show how to use all of the different Twonky products with popular devices including game consoles, connected TVs, digital photo frames, mobile phones, stereo receivers and much more. There are videos here for all levels from beginner to expert.

The person in the How-to videos is not me, it's Tom Perry, our Senior Content Manager. He's a great guy that sits right next to me. If you want to see what I look like (and I wouldn't recommend it). You'll have to watch the CES Demo video which is on Facebook or YouTube. ; )

These vids really oversimplify the installation and leave out several of the pitfalls which I personally ran into and am certain that others have experienced.

It's not as simple as "plug it in and use it." Please allow me to elaborate:

The first obstacle that I had to overcome after the initial installation was that the management pages were in JAPANESE. Thank God for Babelfish! After about 10 minutes of translating the linked menu labels into ENGLISH, I was able to guess which page contained the ability to switch the default text to ENGLISH and then also I had to discover how to apply this change, basically using process of elimination since I could not copy the text from the buttons at the top of the management page.

After I applied this change and also restarted the server...oh, wait I meant attempted to restart the server, ended up shutting the service off then figuring out that I had to double-click an actual application icon which was unknowingly installed in my Applications folder to restart the server (yeah...allll that), I was able to get ENGLISH on the management pages.

The next one was the management pages themselves. Yes, they were now in ENGLISH but they are not exactly informative and/or helpful in their scope. Fortunately, being the IT pro that I am, and having to deal with many, many manuals written in ENGRISH, or lacking any manual at all for several devices over several years of experience it's not too bad for me. For the technical lay-person however, I can see how it may be still a bit frustrating. (Who's to say how many of these lay-people got that initial JAPANESE page and said "To hell with this!" and moved on to something else, trashing Twonky entirely? Oh, yeah and on that subject: how does one DO that exactly? Is the a REMOVE Twonky feature in the installer or an UNinstaller? Didn't see one. So if someone decides that this is not for them, will they ahve to deal with Twonky starting up every time they start their machine?)

Also, I had to discover that not only port 9000 (the management port) but SEVERAL OTHER PORTS have to be opened on any and all security settings (be they advanced like in my server's firewall's service settings, semi-advanced like for a router or XP or fundamental and aided by a home-serviceable firewall which will say "Hey, Twonky is trying to use port XXXX...should I let it?). It was only after I dug into the FAQ for TwonkyMedia Server that I saw that several more ports had to be opened in order to get anything working. (As a matter of fact, I believe that there may be even more ports that I will have to open in order to stream Internet Radio broadcasts...but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.) Since I am already here, let me point them out for the reader and save him/her some time. (Copied from the FAQ.)

"What ports are used by the TwonkyMedia Server?

The ports used by the server are as follows: UDP ports 1030, 1900, 9080 TCP ports starting at 9000 until a free port is found."

Translation from ENGRISH to ENGLISH: Open UDP ports 1030, 1900, 9080 and at least TCP 9000. All of these are OUTGOING connections FROM your TwonkyMedia Server machine. 9000 can also be INCOMING if you want to remotely manage it.

In my experience, until I opened all of these ports, my TwonkyMedia Server machine was not even seen by my Xbox 360 as being present. I will assume that this would be the case for anyone who tried this, if they had a firewall running. Now you can be un-safe and not run a firewall, and I will also assume that these ports will have open access. But that would be (ahem) un-wise.

One also has to setup the default folder paths to the media which is to be shared. Again, if you are a lay-person this can be an adventure. Also, not exactly "plug in your 'internet cord' (whatever the hell that is) and there you have it."

The menu system that appears on my Xbox 360 from the TwonkyMedia Server is less-than-great. It does not pickup my playlists that I created in iTunes at all. I tried all of the default settings offered and none of them make things better (including iTunes-like).

Internet Radio Streaming is non-existent. I still cannot even begin to guess where that is found when browsing with my 360. I will address that in another post I think because I believe it will take about as much effort and explanation to me as I am giving to you here.

Another small suggestion for the first How-to vid for the 360: get rid of the multiple networks on your LAN and run it on a home-type network so it looks more "vanilla." This part may be confusing to the everyman. And once again: what the hell is an "internet cable?" How about "network cable running from your router or modem?"

Hopefully this was helpful to all who read it. Maybe in the future, Twonky can be more of a "fire and forget" service, but right now it's not as easy as these vids portray.

I just watched the video for the Kodak Ex1011 Digital Frame, which gave a nice overview on how to use the digital picture frame with twonky and by simple I mean it provides pretty much the same functionality as any MS PC with Windows Media Player 11 configured.

What I'd like to do is to send a Slideshow from twonky Media Manager (both 1.1 or 1.2 beta) and send it to the Kodak Ex1011 from the PC (use it as a DLNA renderer) but have been unable to do so. Are there special setting/permissions that need to be set? Does the Kodak need/have the correct firmware to be DLNA complian in that regard?

What I'd like to do is to send a Slideshow from twonky Media Manager (both 1.1 or 1.2 beta) and send it to the Kodak Ex1011 from the PC (use it as a DLNA renderer) but have been unable to do so. Are there special setting/permissions that need to be set? Does the Kodak need/have the correct firmware to be DLNA complian in that regard?

TwonkyMedia manager is capable of doing this today -- but not with the currently shipping Kodak frames.

- I have a D-Link on my desk that will accept photos that are dragged and dropped to it from TMM (but it has special non-publically released firmware).

- There was also a Polaroid photo frame that I've heard can do this, but it's discontinued.

- If you read my CES report, you'll see Kodak is rumored to be working on a new product that will be able to do this.

The problem is there aren't any currently shipping photo frames that I aware of that can do this. I don't know if Kodak plans to make that firmware available for older frames (like the one that you and I have), but I'd be surprised if they did, because I think the new frames are running on a different OS.

In order to do this, your Direct TV box needs to be capable of playing the type of FLV format video that YouTube uses. Unfortunately most media players can't do this. If you want to learn how to save YouTube videos and convert them into a format which your device can play, you might want to read this:

Hi,may I ask: is there a way to stream videos directly from a BD or DVD drive to the TV? these drives are not included in the list of drives that I can choose as sources from. I'm using Twonky server 5.1.2

Streaming videos saved on the hard drives of my computer is working fine. However, I would also like to stream videos saved on DVDs to my TV without having to save them first on the harddrive. However, Twonky server does not "recognise" the DVD drives of my computer as a source, thus I can't choose them from the list. And I don't have the opportunity to connect the Computer via HDMI cable to the TV either (to far away). Am I making sense? Sorry if it sounds a bit weird....

I do not want to save everything to a hard drive before streaming. How do you live stream using Twonky, for example live radio or live music streaming services. I see in the Twonky server there are links to sites for audio video. How do you add a live streaming audio service to the list, like MOG (http://mog.com) streams MP3 320Kbps quality music. That's the question.

rlm wrote:I do not want to save everything to a hard drive before streaming. How do you live stream using Twonky, for example live radio or live music streaming services. I see in the Twonky server there are links to sites for audio video. How do you add a live streaming audio service to the list, like MOG (http://mog.com) streams MP3 320Kbps quality music. That's the question.

Twonky software works today with some Internet radio stations. Look for the SHOUTcast heading or Handpicked Radio headings if you're running TwonkyServer 5.1 or later or TwonkyManager. TwonkyBeam will stream music from any site that contains unprotected music files that aren't embedded in a Flash player. Could you please test MOG with TwonkyBeam and let me know if it works? I tried it, but didn't want to put my credit card in.

Streaming videos saved on the hard drives of my computer is working fine. However, I would also like to stream videos saved on DVDs to my TV without having to save them first on the harddrive. However, Twonky server does not "recognise" the DVD drives of my computer as a source, thus I can't choose them from the list. And I don't have the opportunity to connect the Computer via HDMI cable to the TV either (to far away). Am I making sense? Sorry if it sounds a bit weird....

Alex

I can see why you'd want to do this. Unfortunately, I don't know if this is technically possible. One thing that you could do is to copy your ripped DVDs to a USB thumb drive or USB external hard drive and that should work.

rlm wrote:How do I add the MOG music site to the Twonky Shoutcast radio list and establish a streaming channel?

How do I engage it to play?

I don't want to sign up for this service if I can not steam it my Audio system. I am not interested listening to music on my PC in my office.

I know there is a way to add SHOUTcast radio stations to a playlist that can be streamed from TwonkyServer to devices on your network. Unfortunately, this is not a feature that I've had time to try yet. You might want to look at posts like this one and see if they can provide you with enough info to try this. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8915

I don't think you'll be able to steam music from MOG to your devices unless: 1. MOG streams unprotected audio or uses a format that Twonky can support (like Windows Media DRM). 2. Even if this is the case, your device would have to stream this type of protected audio. Most don't.

There is talk of us launching our own free music sevice in the future. Maybe later this year. If that happens, it should work when you stream to your devices.

Twonky beam will work with my Mac sending the stream to my Denon AVP. How will it show up on the AVP when choosing the Mac as a Media Server.

Twonky Server is the only interface into the Denon.

So if I install Twonky beam and beam MOG how is this going to work. My Mac is wireless connected to my Denon AVP that has a network connection input that allows you to choose the Mac Server. Where in the Twonky Server does Twonky Beam interface, Radio, Music, etc, and how do I select the output from Twonky beam.

rlm wrote:Twonky beam will work with my Mac sending the stream to my Denon AVP. How will it show up on the AVP when choosing the Mac as a Media Server.

Twonky Server is the only interface into the Denon.

So if I install Twonky beam and beam MOG how is this going to work. My Mac is wireless connected to my Denon AVP that has a network connection input that allows you to choose the Mac Server. Where in the Twonky Server does Twonky Beam interface, Radio, Music, etc, and how do I select the output from Twonky beam.

TwonkyBeam is designed to work with online media, not local media served with TwonkyServer. If you're Denon AVP is a DLNA DMR (and I believe it could be), it should show up in the devices section of TwonkyBeam. Then you go to the MOG site and browse music. If all goes well, Beam can see the music on the MOG pages. If it can, you can select a song in the Beam media list, click on your Denon device in the Beam devices section and press the Beam play button.

Where in the Denon AVP will the Beam devices section appear. Will it be listed as another media server, or will it be in the Mac Defined Media Server bundled with the Twonky Server shared media has it's own selection? It has to be selectable.

My question is how and where will Twonky Beam appear on the Denon, and if it appears how will I play and stream music.

rlm wrote:Where in the Denon AVP will the Beam devices section appear. Will it be listed as another media server, or will it be in the Mac Defined Media Server bundled with the Twonky Server shared media has it's own selection? It has to be selectable.

My question is how and where will Twonky Beam appear on the Denon, and if it appears how will I play and stream music.

TwonkyServer can't push media to devices like your Denon. Although devices do appear on one of the server settings pages, this only affects the way that media is pulled from the server.

Only TwonkyManager and TwonkyBeam can. In TwonkyManager your Denon should appear in the Play Here section. In TwonkyBeam, it should appear in the Devices section. If it doesn't appear, it's probably not a DMR.

Watch for the release notes here in the TwonkyBeam section of the forum after we post our next update. Since we just posted an update this week, it will probably be at least 30-60 days before we post another.

Is it possible to push the same video simultaneously on more than one TVs? TVs should be perfectly syncronized. This is useful if i have more TVs close each other and i want to show exactly the same images, without delays.

I recently went through some of your videos in YouTube and I have to say that it covers almost all popular devices that go hand in hand with Twonky products and how to set up and use your products with them. By the way, have you guys considered anything for iPad or iPhone?